By Sharon Tawuya
Exhibitors at the 2026 edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show on Tuesday said they are overwhelmed by the number of inquiries from farmers who are anxious about the effects of the super ElNino predicted for the upcoming cropping season.
Speaking to New Ziana, Kutsaga Research public relations officer Melody Mudzi said there has been a high number of farmers inquiring about drought tolerant tobacco in light of the predicted super El Nino for the 2026/7 summer cropping season.
“We were recommending that the seedlings are drought resistant, climate smart, our T-series from T78 up to T81, NKRK 71 up to NKRK 75. These are tested and proven for dry areas, and they have been known that they do well in those kind of conditions.
“But to the farmers who are irrigating, they can continue with their varieties,” she said.
Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority public relations manager, Luckmore Safuli said the authority is using the exhibition to educate people about the need to live harmoniously with wildlife.
“We are excited to be participating in this year’s edition of the premier agricultural show as we are equally pleased with the theme for this year, which is “Power and Growth, Where Commerce, Technology and Agriculture Converge.”
“So, from our point of view, we are also saying our estates, our National Parks are places where tourism, wildlife conservation and technology also converge. So, basically we are saying that our parks are not just protected areas or wildlife reserves or places where we manage wildlife, but also they are key assets that we can leverage and join to generate value for the economy.
“This is our message this year, that as parks we stand committed to work closely with the government, our communities to make sure that our protected areas, our natural capital contributes to the sustainable development agenda”.
He said Zimparks has also taken advantage of the platform to educate people on what role they can play in support of the biodiversity agenda.
“We know that we have a collective responsibility of protecting our God-given wildlife heritage.
“So, we are educating – conservation education – is part of what we are doing today and for the rest of this week we will be educating our communities on the do’s and don’ts when interacting with the wildlife.”
He added: “As you might be aware, human-wildlife conflict remains one of the biggest issues affecting not just the lives, but also the livelihoods of our many communities around Zimbabwe, particularly wildlife-rich areas like Kariba, Mbire, Hwange, and other communities.
Other stands which were popular for show goers include the Zimbabwe National Road Authority which traditionally runs a discount for motor vehicle licensing.
New Ziana
